Unified Interior Regions
Region 3: Great Lakes
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
For more information on the Great Lakes and work being done, check out the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative website here!
GLRIUSGS Science Centers in the Great Lakes Region
For more information on what each center is doing in the Great Lakes, please follow the links below!
Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
Water quality of the lower Fox River tributaries and Duck Creek watersheds
The USGS is evaluating the effectiveness of non-point pollution control measures in five watersheds in the Lower Fox River and Duck Creek watersheds and comparing daily phosphorus and suspended solids loads for each watershed.
Impact of phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations on the biological integrity of Wisconsin streams
The USGS and Wisconsin DNR collected water-quality and biological data from 240 wadeable streams and 40 nonwadeable rivers throughout Wisconsin to evaluate the potential environmental benefits of enforcing nutrient criteria and standards for streams and rivers if they better reflected regionally defined, scientifically defensible thresholds to biotic response.
Groundwater Data Available Online
The USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center cooperates with local and state agencies to collect and maintain groundwater data across the states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In Michigan, the USGS and local partners actively monitor 90 wells. Of the 90 wells, 22 are continuously monitored with...
Low-Flow Streamgage Network in Michigan
Data on low-flow characteristics are used by water-resources managers for a variety of purposes, including water-supply planning, making decisions about wastewater-discharge and water withdrawal permits, and evaluating in-stream flow requirements. The Michigan low-flow network currently consists of seven sites where streamflow is typically measured only during low-flow periods. In addition to...
Estimating Lake Water Clarity
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), use a technique modeled after Olmanson and others (2001) to predict water clarity and corresponding trophic state index (TSI) values based on the...
Water use in Wisconsin
Water-use information is essential for managing Wisconsin's valuable water resources. This critical information includes knowing how much, where, and for what purpose water is being used. The USGS works in cooperation with local, state, and federal environmental agencies to collect water-use information, and compiles and disseminates aggregated data at the county, state, and national level....
Water Use in Michigan
The USGS compiles water use information by State including estimated amounts, sources, and categories of use every five years since 1950.
Microbial Ecology
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Michigan Bacteriological Research Laboratory (MI-BaRL) conducts ecological studies on the structure and function of eubacterial and archeal communities in the environment. Studies of this type give us basic information about the composition and functionality of different microbial communities and allow us to investigate the effects that natural and...
Michigan Historical NAWQA Programs
The USGS implemented the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program in 1991 to develop long-term consistent and comparable information on streams, rivers, groundwater, and aquatic systems in support of national, regional, State, and local information needs and decisions related to water-quality management and policy.
NAWQA Groundwater
The National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) provides an understanding of water-quality conditions; whether conditions are getting better or worse over time; and how natural features and human activities affect those conditions. Regional and national assessments are possible because of a consistent study design and uniform methods of data collection and analysis. Monitoring data are...
NAWQA Surface Water National Fixed Network Site Status and Trends
As part of the USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program the USGS MIWSC operates a stream gage and routinely collects water quality samples at the Clinton River at Sterling Heights, MI. station. Water is analyzed for sediment, nutrients, major ions, and a suite of 271 different pesticides. Information obtained...
Streamflow monitoring in Wisconsin
Streamflow data are needed at many sites on a daily basis for forecasting flow conditions and flooding, water-management decisions, assessing water availability, managing water quality, and meeting legal requirements. The USGS has been measuring streamflow in Wisconsin since 1906 with nearly 1,000 active and discontinued gages.
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Dave gave a demonsration on how to measure groundwater levels.
Pete Cinotto - 2019 Cooperator Meeting - USGS in Kentucky History
Pete Cinotto - 2019 Cooperator Meeting - USGS in Kentucky History
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting
Dave Lampe - OKI 2019 Cooperator Meeting. Dave gave a demonsration on how to measure groundwater levels.
Neal Craig - Flood measurements using old and new technology
Neal Craig - Flood measurements using old and new technology
Variable Warming Upper Midwest Lakes and Implications for Sport Fish
Climate change is predicted to alter sport fish communities in Midwestern lakes, but managers currently have limited information on individual lakes that can be used to set local expectations or intervene with mitigation strategies. Northeast and North Central CASC supported researchers, with strong participation from the Midwest Glacial Lakes Partnership, have combined
Spring 2019 Flooding - Wild Rice River in Minnesota
WWG Reading on the Wild Rice River in Minnesota during record Midwest flooding in spring 2019.
A Smelt Closeup
Closeup view of a Smelt (Osmerus mordax)
Ohio River at Ironton, OH - wire weight gage
Ohio River at Ironton, OH - wire weight gage
Ohio River at Ironton, OH
Ohio River at Ironton - super gage installation. The gage is located in the upper part of the tower shown in the background.
A storm drain that periodically discharges urban runoff
A storm drain that periodically discharges urban runoff, potentially carrying sediment and pollutants, into Oak Creek at 15th Avenue near a USGS gage.
2019 GLB NOSB 1st Place Winner Troy High School
2019 GLB NOSB 1st Place Winner Troy High School.
The U.S. Geological Survey will celebrate the newest addition to its fleet of large research vessels during a traditional ceremony in Cheboygan, Michigan, on Monday. The entire Great Lakes fleet will also be dedicated during the ceremony.
Representatives from the offices of Senator Tammy Baldwin, Senator Ron Johnson and Congressman Mark Pocan will join leaders from the U.S. Geological Survey, federal and state partners and city officials for a special 40th anniversary event at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin, this Friday.
Computer simulations of earthquake shaking, replicating the quakes that occurred in 1811-1812 in the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), indicate that future large earthquakes there would produce major, prolonged ground shaking.
Three tiny fish larvae that were captured by U.S. Geological Survey scientists in May 2014 have just been confirmed to be pallid sturgeon. These new genetic identifications add to mounting evidence that critically endangered pallid sturgeon spawned successfully in the Lower Missouri River downstream of Gavins Point Dam, South Dakota.
The drainage of small wetlands can decrease wildlife habitat and may contribute to flooding in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), according to a recent U.S. Geological Survey study.
Interior Department’s Northeast Climate Science Center has released a report today synthesizing the latest information on the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to climate change in a 22-state region in the Northeast and Midwest U.S.
U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring flooding on rivers and streams across northern Indiana today.
Newly released research from the U.S. Geological Survey describes U.S. hydraulic fracturing (frac) sand deposits and their locations, and provides estimates of frac sand production, consumption, and reserves. A companion map of producing and potential frac sand and resin-coated sand source units in the conterminous U.S. is also included.
New flood inundation maps and an updated flood warning system can help Marietta, Ohio, and other communities along the Lower Muskingum River and Ohio River prepare and plan for floods.
New research can help water resource managers quantify critical groundwater resources and assess the sustainability of long-term water use in Minnesota.
If invasive bighead carp and silver carp spread into Lake Erie, there would be enough food available for these species of Asian carp to survive, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
The likelihood of Asian carp eggs being kept in suspension and hatching in the St. Joseph River in Michigan has been further evaluated using a model that examines a range of multiple flow and water temperature scenarios. Results illustrate the highest percentage of Asian carp eggs at risk of hatching occurs when the streamflow is low and when the water temperature is high.